In My World

Brainfeeder’s de facto New Age guru and all-around production wizard, Matthewdavid, returns with a sophomore full-length for the label, an all-inclusive Mindflight entitled In My World. Unlike prior LP Outmind, which was a largely ambient and inward journey, In My World expands exponentially to a multitude of lavish sound worlds ranging from the lush, vaporous pop dub of the title track, ethereal love jams like “Cosmic Caller” and “Next to You Always”, uncharacteristic IDM breakbeats on “West Coast Jungle Juke”, and a languorously crystallized cover “Perpetual Moon Moods”. Every densely atmospheric track is liberally punctuated with Low End Theory-approved doses of speaker-rattling sub-bass. The album, for all of its masterful production techniques and intriguing lyrical twists, is held together by a unifying theme of love — the most powerful force in the universe.

In My World begins with some quick scratches— a nod to Matthewdavid’s origins in hip-hop, however the following material is anything but. From its title track — “We can rap or sing; don't matter to me.” Or take the lyric from mid-album highlight “Artforms” — “I’m feeling all the artforms start to blend together.” Whether embellishing his recordings with handmade visual accompaniments or effortlessly synthesizing musical styles, Matthewdavid’s work revolves around diverse and compelling combinations. Rapping or singing, the producer’s vocals are pushed forward as the centerpiece of this album. Rightly so— with a freshly minted marriage and the recent birth of his first child, the Los Angeles-based dublab resident and head of Leaving Records has an abundance of wonders to vocalize.

An invitation awaits, a beckoning call to a beautiful paradise forged by imagination. Final track “Birds in Flight” encapsulates the message — “We can only dream a dream that’s dreamt from the Mind’s Eye.” Inner and outer worlds merge into an idyllic reality — life as a psychedelic and self-willed vacation. Infinity looms large here, with a watchful eye towards unseen yet strongly felt intricacies of a futuristic and frail modernity. “As long as we have Love,”Matthewdavid assures us, the world may never end. If the title of his free EP Producers in 2012 Learn to Spread Love was selectively aimed at fellow beatmakers, then In My World encourages listeners to now follow the artist’s example and do the same.